by Aislinn Esterle

Sometimes it is breaking with tradition that creates something innovative. This is exactly what EGGER Sawmill Brilon GmbH has achieved with its new combined cross-cut and finger-jointing solution.

Ever since it was founded in 1961, EGGER – then a simple sawmill – has recognized that wood is one of our most valuable resources and therefore too valuable to simply throw away. This guiding principle led to the construction of the first particleboard plant in St. Johann, Austria, and was catalyst to the company’s growth. Today, the EGGER Group is an international manufacturer of wood-based materials with a product portfolio that ranges from furniture and interior design to the flooring industry and building products.

TM News story – click here to read the full issue 1/2025.

One-stop shop

System TM was still a blind spot for EGGER when plans for a new production line began to take shape. It was on the recommendation of long-time scanning partner MiCROTEC, which had supplied the EGGER sawmill in Brilon with state-of-the-art scanning technology, that talk began about a line that would transform the production of a traditional building component.

“We had a very good relationship with the EGGER team from day one,” recalls Per Juul Jensen, Area Sales Manager at System TM, adding, “We did everything we could to meet the space and production requirements together with the EGGER project team. The further we got into the process, the more it became clear that we have an advantage over the competition because we are a project organization and can offer a complete system solution.”

Higher yield

What began in the 1990s on a green meadow in Brilon, Germany, as a production site for particleboard, has developed into one of the EGGER Group’s strategically most important locations. The plant, which houses the new System TM line, accounts roughly for 1.5 Mio. m³ of the approximately 10.4 Mio. m³ of wood-based materials produced annually by the EGGER Group.

The combined System TM optimizing cross-cut and finger-jointing line with automatic infeed, strength grading, material handling and stacking system will strengthen the production of sawn timber at the Brilon site with an output goal of approx. 70,000 m³ of finger jointed products per year. It is optimized for best wood utilization, high capacity and minimum operator requirements to operate the line, following the System TM philosophy of optimizing staff and wood resources. With this system, EGGER is exploiting the potential to maximize yield by producing a new type of roof batten and other products for their timber construction customer base.

Expertly cut and graded

An Opti-Feed 6000 Vack system marks the beginning of this Opti-Solution, automatically feeding workpieces into the line. Complete packs of timber are automatically transported to the destacking system, which operates in two positions. In position one, the dunnage on top of the packs is removed. In position two, a lift table automatically raises the pack, allowing the vacuum system to remove layers from the pack and transfer them to the material handling system. The drying sticks and dunnage exit on a roller conveyor and are automatically collected.

The remaining workpieces continue to the single piece feeder where each workpiece is distributed onto a chain conveyor, aligned and cut by a trimming saw before passing through a series of MiCROTEC scanning devices. They can then be rejected or rotated 180° before being transferred to a planer and passing through a MiCROTEC Goldeneye for defect and quality detection.

After scanning, the workpieces are transferred to an Opti-Kap 5103 cross-cut saw, which cuts them according to the determined quality. The offcuts are removed, and the shortened workpieces are transferred to a sorting conveyor with various length and quality sorting options, completing the cross-cutting process.

Optimized production

This combined cross-cut and finger-jointing line is the epitome of production optimization. After the saw, the workpieces are separated into A-quality and B-quality The A-quality is sent to the batch builders on the Opti-Joint V-L finger-jointing machine, while the B-quality is collected in a buffer for later use.

The optimization capabilities of System TM’s technology, coupled with MiCROTEC’s scanning intelligence, allow this production line to upgrade previously unusable material and transform it into a completely new product, making full use of the raw material.

This approach to production optimization not only generates better revenue, but also significantly improves material utilization, resulting in a more consistent product. Furthermore, EGGER uses production by-products and a portion of recycled wood to produce new, high-quality, wood-based materials. All of this is a big step towards becoming even more sustainable and an important step towards achieving their Net Zero goal by 2050.

A sharp turn

This finger-jointing line has a special feature that helps the workpieces turn a sharp corer. A turntable moves the batches from the finger-jointing shapers to the alignment station, not in a straight line, but around a corner. This feature was designed specifically for this line to take the available space into account.

But before that, the workpieces, which can be up to 2,500 mm long, are automatically gathered into batches and passed to the finger-jointing machine’s shapers, where the distinctive finger profile is cut. They then pass through the glue application, alignment and pre-press stations before entering the finger-jointing press. The finished, finger jointed workpieces, which can be up to 6,650 mm long, enter a conveyor line for sorting and glue drying.

A subsequent planer can split the planks into two separate workpieces before they enter a multi-head cross-cut saw that cuts them into different lengths before they are stacked into packs by an Opti-Stack 6000 stacker and transferred to a conveyor belt for collection and further processing.

A new chapter in production optimization

This combined cross-cut and finger-jointing solution at EGGER Sawmill Brilon GmbH represents a shift from traditional production methods. “The investment fits very well to the EGGER strategy to create “MORE from WOOD”, as we will be able to increase the ratio of high-quality timber products through the finger-jointing line,” states Georg Lingemann, CEO, EGGER Brilon. The innovative approach to rethink traditional products and find new ways to maximize material utilization also aligns with the company’s sustainability goals. By integrating cutting-edge technology and optimization strategies, EGGER is transforming its production process, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable practices and operational excellence

In addition, this particular System TM line is highly flexible in terms of product dimensions, which means it is easier for EGGER to reconfigure the line to produce a new range of products, making them more agile in responding to market changes and challenges.

“We had a close and transparent exchange with System TM throughout the entire progress of the project. As a customer, it was important for us to always be involved in the relevant decisions.  This meant that we always had the opportunity to contribute our wishes and always knew what the next steps would look like.”

–  Arndt Silberg, Plant Manager, Egger Sawmill Brilon GmbH

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